But Republican Gov. Chris Christie may have made more waves by the slam he delivered to the other seven GOP hopefuls in the 5th District race, RTV6's Norman Cox reported.

The blunt-spoken Christie divided his remarks almost equally between praising Brooks and showing his disdain for candidate David McIntosh, a fellow Republican.

Christie said McIntosh, who's already served three terms in Congress from a neighboring district, is not the person Hoosiers want to send back to Washington.

Christie, who turned down calls from many to run for president, said anyone who likes the way he's changed government and cut spending in the Garden State will want Susan Brooks in Congress.

"This is someone who has spent her entire career here, whether it's in Indianapolis, whether it's as the U.S. Attorney, or whether it was now, as a leader in the higher education system in this state,” said Christie. “(Brooks) has dedicated her life to making Indiana a better place."

Christie then took a not-so-thinly veiled shot at McIntosh by urging Hoosiers not to send incumbents back to Congress.

"If you really want to change Congress, you want to change our country, you need to send different people there,” said Christie. “You're not going to change it by sending the same old people back. I think the people of this district have to give that some long, hard thought -- that you don't want people who are going back there who are part of the Washington establishment, who are just going to do what the ... lobbyists tell them to do. Susan Brooks will not do that. She has stood up when she needed to stand up."

Christie, who endorsed Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney early, said he would listen if Romney asked him to be his running mate, but was doubtful if that scenario would happen.